By Dana Lance, Media Relations Specialist
Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office
Linda Hogan
Dr. Suzanne Van Cooten
Nancy Elliott
ADA, Okla. - The Chickasaw Nation, along with East Central University, is hosting the 2008 Dynamic Women of the Chickasaw Nation Forum at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 10.
The forum will be conducted in the ECU Raymond Estep Multimedia Center in the University Student Center on the Ada campus.
This annual event salutes the valuable contributions, skills and talents of dynamic Chickasaw women, through a candid question-and-answer format on topics related to the Chickasaw experience and the panelists' personal endeavors.
"This forum is not only is a celebration of the lives of these great women shaping the Chickasaw Nation, but honors these dynamic individuals who continue to strengthen the Chickasaw Nation and their community through their good works," said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby.
Panelists this year include a Chickasaw legislator, a meteorologist, an award-winning author and an educator.
Chickasaw legislator Dean McManus began her career with the Chickasaw Nation in 1968 as a Community Health Representative. She served in many capacities in her almost three decades as a tribal employee, completing her career as director of Training and Development in 1997.
She is in the midst of her third term as a Chickasaw tribal legislator, representing the Pontotoc District. McManus has served on a number of boards, including the Ada Community Services Council and the Pontotoc Vo-Tech Region 8 "School to Work" program. She received Excellence in Leadership from Oklahoma Area Indian Health Service and numerous other awards and honors during her service to the Tribe.
Award winning author and environmentalist Linda Hogan is a poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and essayist. Her novel "Mean Spirit" was a finalist for a Pulitzer in 1990 and won an Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction in 1991. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas in 1998, plus other awards too numerous to list. Hogan has played a prominent role in the development of contemporary Native American poetry and prose.
Meteorologist Dr. Suzanne Van Cooten has worked as a forecaster, researcher and national program manager for National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for more than 17 years. She is currently on a two-year personnel assignment from NOAA to the University of Oklahoma In this capacity, she works with federal, state, tribal, and academic partners to develop sustainable water management applications using weather prediction tools produced at the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) and other National Weather Center partners.
Nancy Elliott is a teacher with the Ada City School System and has taught elementary education for 23 years. She completed her bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1983, and later earned a master's degree in learning disabilities. Known for her innovative teaching methods, Elliott helped secured thousands of dollars in grants for classroom materials and field trips years to provide students hands-on educational activities during the past 25 years. Two grants were awarded this school year, for studying solar power through interactive projects and the other combines science and reading to solve mysteries. She served as a volunteer Girl Scout Leader for two troupes for 10 years. Elliott has been actively involved with her church and has taught in Sunday School for many years.
Serving this year as moderator is Chickasaw artist and Murray State College Clemente instructor, Amy von Tungeln Gantt, the great-great-great granddaughter of Cyrus Harris, the first Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory. She earned a Master's degree at Texas Women's University. Von Tungeln-Gantt plays an active role in the Chickasaw Nation's language revitalization efforts.
This annual forum is hosted by the Chickasaw Clemente Humanities Studies program through the Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts and Humanities, in partnership with ECU.
The ECU Native American Student Association will host a reception after the event.
Among the women honored previously, panelists and moderators have included artists, writers, educators, health professionals, governmental leaders and cherished elders, including Dr. Judy Goforth Parker, Mary Jo Green, Sophie Perry, Sandi Sanders, Johnna Walker; Jeannie Barbour, Dr. JudyLee Oliva, Lisa John, Geraldine Greenwood, Linda Briggs, Pauline Carpenter Brown, and Dr. Paula E. VanBuskirk.
For information about the 2008 Dynamic Women of The Chickasaw Nation Forum, contact Laura Clark or Mark Milligan at the Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts and Humanities, at (580) 272-5520.
